Report: Domestic violence incidents up, arrests down in Kansas

Ann Marie Bush

Sunday

Nov 24, 2013 at 2:47 PM

The number of domestic violence incidents in Kansas is the highest it has been since 1992, but the number of incidents with arrests is down, according to a recently released Kansas Bureau of Investigation report.

The report also shows while the number of rapes reported in the state in 2012 decreased 3.3 percent from the number reported the previous year, only 20.8 percent were cleared by an arrest — down from 25 percent cleared in 2011.

The Domestic Violence, Stalking and Rape in Kansas report for 2012 was compiled by the KBI. The project is supported by a grant awarded to the state. The report is based on 2012 statistical data as submitted to the KBI by Kansas law enforcement agencies.

While the report gives a snapshot into domestic violence and rape in the state, people have to remember it only includes incidents that are reported, said Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

"I think this is one small piece of the data," Grover said. "I want people to remember this is the reported domestic violence. There are many, many more people impacted by these issues. It gives us a snapshot of what is being reported to law enforcement."

Janell Zeiler, public service administrator II for the KBI, said the KBI has been compiling the reports since 1997.

"We do compile other reports, but this is the one that is funded through the grant," Zeiler said. "The Domestic Violence, Stalking and Rape report is used very often. We get phone calls from the general public wanting the stats before the report is even released."

The grant funds one position at the KBI — a person to conduct the data entry of the reports that come in manually, Zeiler said. The KBI also matches a portion of the grant with extra man-hours.

"It’s a lot of hours," Zeiler said. "The approximate number of hours entering, compiling and analyzing the data for the publication is estimated at 2,300 hours. Please remember that this would include the one full-time employee that enters the information."

The report shows most domestic violence offenders use some type of bodily force against their victims and most use their hands, fists or feet as personal weapons. Domestic violence incidents most often occur at home, and 47.6 percent of all victims receive physical injuries severe enough to cause visible abrasions.

Victim and offender characteristics for domestic violence haven’t changed drastically over the years, Zeiler said. The average victim is a white woman between the ages of 20 and 24. The average offender is a white man between the ages of 20 and 29. Most often the offender is the spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend of the victim.

Saturdays and Sundays are the two days when domestic violence incidents are most prevalent, the report states. Most incidents occur between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m.

Between 1992 and 2012, the highest number of domestic violence incidents occurred last year, when there were 24,373 incidents reported. There were fewer arrests made in 2012 than were made in 2011. In 2011, there were 13,478 arrests. Last year, there were only 13,193.

There were 24 domestic violence-related homicides in 2012.

"That’s always concerning," Grover said. "For the last four years or so, it has stayed about 25 percent — one in four. That is pretty striking when you think of all of the homicides in the state: One in four is related to domestic violence."

The number of domestic violence-related homicides spiked in 2009.

"That is really concerning because I think if you look at 2009 through 2012, that is really when the whole nation was going through an economic downturn," Grover said. "I can’t say it is directly caused by the economy, but it does stand out. We know that victims feel like they have fewer options (in a tougher economy). They are concerned about their jobs, housing. Sometimes they end up in a more dangerous situation because they have fewer options."

Funding for domestic violence and sexual assault programming also has been cut about 20 percent since 2008.

In Shawnee County, there were 2,056 domestic violence incidents reported in 2012, up from 1,833 in 2011. The 2012 arrest percentage was 36.8 percent in Shawnee County.

The report shows the number of rapes reported to Kansas law enforcement agencies decreased 3.3 percent in 2012 from the number reported in 2011. However, during 2012, about 20.8 percent of all reported rape incidents in Kansas were cleared by an arrest, down from 25 percent cleared in 2011.

"The rape numbers stay around 1,200 a year," Grover said. "They haven’t really changed. We know this is probably the most underreported crime out there. Likely, it is twice that or more. In terms of rape, in this report, 78 percent of the victims know their rapists and there was a 21 percent arrest rate. They know their attacker, but often there isn’t an arrest."

Rape victims are usually white women younger than 25 years old. The rape offender is most often a white man between the ages of 15 and 29. Rapes most frequently occur during the weekend, and most happen between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m., the report shows.

Between 1992 and 2012, the highest number of rapes occurred in 2006 — 1,238.

In 2012, a rape occurred in the state every eight hours, 12 minutes and 36 seconds.

A three-year trend shows most victims know their attacker and often it is a person the victim is dating or an ex. The trend also shows most people are raped in their residence.

The number of rapes in Shawnee County has decreased — from 58 rapes in 2011 to 47 in 2012. The arrest rate has increased, it was 1.5 percent in 2010 and 1.7 percent in 2011. In 2012, the arrest rate was 12.8 percent.